The present technique relates generally to diagnostic and imaging systems and, more particularly, to medical diagnostic imaging systems. Specifically, a technique is provided for electronically displaying, transferring, and sharing clinical protocols for a plurality of diagnostic imaging systems.
Diagnostic imaging systems, such as those in various medical modalities, generally use imaging protocols to define relevant parameters for acquiring and processing images. These imaging protocols are often transmitted by physical delivery of a computer disk, a printed document, or a handwritten document. Unfortunately, physical delivery (e.g., mail) can unacceptably delay a diagnostic procedure, which may be critical to a patient's diagnosis. Alternatively, a file transfer protocol (FTP) may be used to transfer the imaging protocol from one scanner to another. In either case, the imaging protocol is not necessarily workable with the desired diagnostic imaging system in its present form. The imaging protocol itself may have various errors, compatibility conflicts, and so forth. Moreover, the imaging protocol may not even represent validated operational parameters, such as uniform imaging criteria, uniform medical rules, and accepted clinical practices. Although manufacturers may provide standard protocols with its diagnostic imaging systems, these standard protocols are generally not validated or based on clinical expertise. The manufacturers simply do not have the expertise or regulatory permission to provide advice on specific clinical questions. In addition to these problems, the process of configuring the imaging protocol on the desired diagnostic imaging system often consumes considerable time and technical resources. For example, the manufacturer's representative and/or a resident clinician/technician may be needed to configure the diagnostic imaging system for the new imaging protocol.
Accordingly, a technique is needed to address one or more of the foregoing problems in the field of diagnostic imaging systems.